Perhaps the most interesting part, is that in the Economic and Market
Outlook 2005/2006 table on page 8, the forecasted level for the S&P
TSX 60 Index is 9600. We are 10% higher than that at present,
which may call for some more conservative investment posture for
accounts with high Canadian equity exposure. If you would like a
review of your asset allocation to see if you are overweight in any
sector, please contact us.

RRSP Clone Funds Quickly being Eliminated

Most of the major fund companies have quickly taken steps to
eliminate their redundant RRSP clone funds now that the formal legislation
eliminating the 30% foreign content limit was passed in early
July. This is good news for investors. The elimination of both the
30% foreign content limit and the RRSP Clone funds will give investors
more flexibility and make RRSP investing simpler and less costly. For many years,
RRSP
clone funds were a
popular way to get past the government's arbitrarily imposed 30% foreign content limit
for registered plans but they were more expensive than their non-RRSP
counterparts.

Fund companies have already begun rolling RRSP clone fund investments
into the underlying foreign funds. Securities legislators have waived the normal 60 day requirement
for notice, as these changes are purely in the interests of
investors. If you have a clone fund, you will see that being
switched automatically into the regular foreign fund that the clone was
based on. The termination of the RRSP clones will be considered a
deemed disposition for tax purposes but there will be no adverse
tax consequences for investors in registered plans, which is where
virtually all RRSP clones are held.

Fidelity was the first fund company in Canada to complete their clone
fund windup, and most consolidations have now been completed. There were over 200 clone funds 2 months ago, and we do not expect to
see any of them after September.

In the future, it will be possible that any "Canadian" fund
will be able to invest up to 100% international, not just 30%. It
will become increasingly important to watch the fund category that your fund
is in.

In a related move, ScotiaMcLeod's registered account statements will
show maximum foreign content allowed at 100%, while continuing to show
the actual percentage exposed to foreign investments.

Anything that makes life simpler
is a welcome change. Please contact us for
more information on any of the topics raised.

More on foreign content

Along with and included in the formal passing of the budget, Canadian
Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) has increased the maximum coverage
per institution to $100,000 from $60,000. As ScotiaMcLeod offers 8
different GIC issuers, we can therefore offer over $800,000 of deposit
insurance in a single account.

More on CDIC insurance

The details of the process for resolving the fund
timing settlements we reported on last
fall are now becoming available.
It appears that in most cases, investors in affected funds will be
receiving cheques directly for their settlements. Earlier, it had
been suggested that the settlements would be paid out as additional
shares to existing shareholders, but it appears that was
unworkable. In any case, the settlements only affect international
funds held around 5 years ago, and many settlements may be for
relatively small amounts. Please contact us if you have any questions about
settlements and your
funds.

Summer Fund Investments at Record Levels

June and July were some more good months in the markets, and mutual fund sales
continue to grow. Driven by energy prices, the natural resources
sector continues to be the the driving force behind the Canadian
market. According to the Investment
Funds Institute of Canada, (IFIC), Canadians have over $540 Billion
invested in funds, which represents another record level of confidence
in mutual fund investment management.

Growthworks Merging Funds

GrowthWorks is proposing to merge the 3 smaller Canadian Science and
Technology Growth, Capital Alliance Ventures and GrowthWorks Opportunity
funds into the original GrowthWorks WV Canadian fund. We continue to feel that there are too many small LSIF funds, and
applaud this initiative.

During the summer "driving months" and with gas prices
remaining high, many people will be wondering how much oil we have left,
and what our sources of alternative energy will be. Most sources
of information tend to be very biased one way or the other, but this
site, (although run by an oil company) seems to present a balanced view
and seeks public input.

® Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence. ™ Trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence. Scotia Wealth Management™ consists of a range of financial services provided by The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank®); The Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Company (Scotiatrust®); Private Investment Counsel, a service of 1832 Asset Management L.P.; 1832 Asset Management U.S. Inc.; Scotia Wealth Insurance Services Inc.; and ScotiaMcLeod®, a division of Scotia Capital Inc. ("SCI"). Wealth advisory and brokerage services are provided by ScotiaMcLeod, a division of SCI. Insurance services are provided by Scotia Wealth Insurance Services Inc., the insurance subsidiary of SCI. When discussing life insurance products, ScotiaMcLeod advisors are acting as Life Underwriters (Financial Security Advisors in Québec) representing Scotia Wealth Insurance Services Inc. SCI is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.

The Spiess McGlade Team is a personal trade name of Carl Spiess and Allan McGlade.